Uncertainty over Rajasthan chief ministerial face, Vasundhara Raje reaches Delhi

Amid uncertainty over the BJP’s choice for the chief minister of Rajasthan, senior leader and former CM Vasundhara Raje landed in New Delhi on Wednesday to meet party leadership.

Sources said that Vasundhara Raje has sought time to meet BJP President JP Nadda and they could hold discussions on Thursday morning. A two-time Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje is one of the contenders for the CM post after BJP’s sweeping victory in the recently concluded Rajasthan Assembly polls.

Raje’s Delhi visit came after meetings between her and over 60 newly elected BJP MLAs at her residence on Monday and Tuesday. According to news agency PTI, the MLAs termed it a courtesy meeting and said they would support Raje if the party leadership chooses her for the top post in the state.

Earlier in the day, sources said, Raje had spoken to the party’s high command after her meeting with the MLAs and conveyed to them that she was a “disciplined worker of the party”, adding that she would never go “out of line”.

Apart from Raje, who won assembly elections from the Jhalrapatan seat, Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Arjun Meghwal, and party MPs — Baba Balaknath and Diya Kumari, who also won assembly polls — are amongst the contenders for the chief minister’s post.

Raje, who is the National Vice-President of BJP, has been the chief minister of Rajasthan twice from 2003 to 2008 and 2013 to 2018.

While she was the CM face in earlier elections, the BJP decided to go to polls this time without projecting any leader for the top post.